Inventory “shrinkage” – including employee theft, shoplifting, administrative error and vendor fraud – cost US retailers $34 billion in 2004, according to the latest National Retail Security Survey. As a result, retailers are increasingly using digital video surveillance to cut “shrinkage losses” as well as reduce the time demands of false alarms.

Drawbacks of VHS

While tape-based surveillance has been in use for years, it has drawbacks. Besides poor image quality, tape deteriorates over time. Many hours of tape may need to be viewed to find specific evidence, and that evidence is often difficult to match with Point-Of-Sale (POS) data. Moreover, since tape-based surveillance cannot be viewed remotely, storeowners must return to the store whenever an alarm is triggered.

“I was tired of changing tapes every third day,” notes Jesse Robinson, owner of Robinson’s Jewelry store in St. Louis, Missouri. “I wanted more than two weeks’ worth of taped images and better image quality, as well as access from home. I was ready for a change.”

The Benefits of Digital Video Recording

When Robinson’s tape-based system broke down, he upgraded to a digital video surveillance and remote management system from Miami, Florida-based Eyeson Inc (www.eyeson.biz). Key to Robinson’s decision to purchase his new digital system was its ability to record 45 days’ worth of images at a time.

Robinson also appreciates his system’s flexibility. “I can view all eight cameras on a single screen at the store or remotely, and enlarge any image as cameras continue recording,” he says. “I can also search by date, time, camera, or other criteria to quickly track down sources of shrinkage.”

Because next generation video surveillance and remote management systems fully integrate with popular POS systems, they enable relevant data to appear alongside corresponding video images. This way any suspicious transactions can quickly be tracked to their source, enabling owners to correct inventory shrinkage, whether employee theft, or any other source.

Since specialty items like jewelry are small and easily misplaced, jewelry stores have reported nearly double the percentage of administrative errors compared to the retail average. In these cases, digital video recording systems with a “video audit” search capability enables instant searches by day, time, motion, camera, or other criteria. Robinson can also access the images remotely from home, and avoid reacting to false alarms.

Additionally, he can “video audit” items for sale or repair, comparing before and after images for discrepancies, and, if necessary, easily burn the evidence onto an encrypted CD with a few clicks of his mouse.

Systems from Eyeson can be configured to record up to 730 continuous days with superior image quality. For more storage capacity, they can be set to record only when motion is detected on a camera-by-camera basis.

Designed for ease of use, Robinson installed the system himself, saving the cost of the professional installer required by less intuitive systems. “I just mounted the cameras, ran cable, and plugged in the computer,” says Robinson. “I was recording immediately, since the software comes pre-loaded.”

With such successful results, the use of video surveillance to fight inventory shrinkage issues like employee theft promises to continue to grow across the retail market.